The CCOF Foundation

What if you could combat climate change, strengthen local economies, and improve health in our communities, all through one strategic initiative? What if we told you that organic can tackle it all?

The CCOF Foundation empowers organic farmers to grow organic agriculture, which in turn creates a more prosperous, resilient world.

We invest in many different ways to grow organic, from jumpstarting a new organic farmer’s education, to providing resources for farmers in transition to organic, to supporting seasoned organic professionals’ success through ongoing learning and training. Combined, all of these efforts create an environment where organic can grow, expanding organic’s benefits for the planet, the climate, and our communities.

Our vision is to live in a world where organic is the norm—where all communities have access to healthy food, and food is grown in a way that helps reverse climate change and heal our planet.

Will you join us in helping farmers, our planet, and our communities thrive? Donate or partner with us.

Want to learn more about our work? Contact us at ccoffoundation@ccof.org.

About the CCOF Foundation

CCOF was founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1973 when 13 farmers sat around a kitchen table and made a commitment to organic farming and supporting each other. This commitment evolved into an organic certification business and the CCOF Foundation, which focuses on the founders’ spirit of community support.

Guided by the wisdom of our farming roots, we bring together the organic community to offer intentional education, financial support, and growth opportunities for organic professionals.

Because CCOF is still governed by certified organic producers today, we design our programs to strategically target the specific roadblocks faced by organic farmers and businesses. Our focus is on meeting the unique needs of the organic community at all stages, so we can cultivate and nourish both new and existing organic businesses.

Dear CCOF members and supporters,

Here at CCOF, we have a vision of a world where organic is the norm. We value integrity, courage, community, and representation of and for organic producers. Together, our vision and values compose a compass that directs and focuses our work supporting the organic community. In 2022, the CCOF Foundation returned over and over to these principles to evaluate whether our actions mirror our core values. Learn more about our work over the last year in our 2022 Annual Report.

Examining our values alignment has inspired us to redesign our grant program that supports organic farmers. In February, the CCOF Foundation committed $120,000 to 12 Latino/a farmers transitioning their land to organic. Every year for the three-year transition period, each farmer will receive a $10,000 grant and technical support, as well as connections with farmer mentors, like-minded community, and supply chain contacts.

By adapting this program to meet the specific needs of this population of farmers over a longer time frame, CCOF more meaningfully helps these farmers successfully transition to organic production. In 2023, CCOF launched a new cohort of our three-year organic transition grant program, and we will add a third cohort in 2024. Each of these cohorts targets a new demographic of farmers in a specific geographic location.

In December 2022, we signed a five-year, $15 million cooperative agreement with the National Organic Program to lead the Western/Southwestern region for the Transition to Organic Partnership Program. You’ll hear much more about this throughout the year. This amplification of our work will enable us and dozens of partners to reach more farmers with the resources they need—mentorship, technical assistance, community building, and workforce development.

The challenges associated with transitioning to organic are complex and varied, as are the solutions to those challenges. The CCOF Foundation is committed to listening to the needs of transitioning producers and working together to creatively, collaboratively meet those needs.

We’re also committed to helping organic producers throughout other parts of their journey in organic. This includes financial assistance for organic ag students through the Future Organic Farmers program, ongoing professional development at our Organic Training Institute, and financial support for organic producers in hard times through our Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund.

Thank you for all you’ve done to support organic, whether that’s through farming your own land organically, giving advice to a new organic farmer, donating to our Organic Transition Program, or partnering with us to get resources to more farmers. We couldn’t do it without you.

Many thanks,

Kelly Damewood
CEO